Erosion 

Published by Artishok Biennial, Estonia, November 2020.

Do children’s internal landscapes deteriorate as a consequence of the erosion of play(1)?

Neuroscientists, social psychologists and human rights advocates affirm that freeform play sets the foundation for children’s mental wellbeing(2) and development. Yet time and space devoted to it are under the axe both in schools and extracurricular settings. Play in the curiosity-evoking natural world is in danger of going extinct(3). Urban playgrounds – often copies of each other – seem like adults’ comical vision of the needs of children in the context of the aforementioned processes.

The educational psychologist Francesco Tonucci (The City of Children) has called out playgrounds as places that were built when children could no longer move freely outside. According to Tonucci, every game arises from its own specific location and these sites cannot be chosen by adults (4). Questioning why cities are no longer considered safe opens into further topics, but in the context of this text we may observe the consequences: children are deprived of freedom to discover on their own. Restricting independent spontaneity, however, comes at the expense of children’s inner lives as they become adults (5).

Erosion may also manifest as the standardisation of playgrounds, which is the thematic starting point for this artist tandem’s artwork. Scientists have studied the post-WWII playgrounds of the Dutch Structuralist architect Aldo Van Eyck and the influence of their minimalist and symmetrical design on children’s creativity: it turns out that abstract, sculptural shapes indeed encourage creativity. Yet their standardisation – the equal distance between modules and pipes – inversely curtails playfulness(6). Play favours a messy milieu, wildness!

Erosion limits, yet play, ambivalent by nature (7), cannot be fenced in. It tends to wander, even if secretly, to the wide world, which it perpetually re-imagines and takes apart. Under and around playgrounds, too, are vast fields that reveal themselves when approached with playful curiosity. This process is the birthplace of children’s perception of themselves, their inner world.

Written in response to the work of Kaisa Sööt and Koit Randmäe.

(1)Patrick J. Lewis, The Erosion of Play. — International Journal of Play, 6/2017, lk 1–14.
(2)Peter Gray, The Decline of Play and the Rise of Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents. — American Journal of Play, 4(3)/2011, lk 443–463.
(3)Nor Fadzila Aziz and Ismail Said, Outdoor Environments as Children’s Play Spaces: Playground Affordances. — Play, Recreation, Health and Well Being. Geographies of Children and Young People. Toim. B. Evans, J. Horton, T. Skelton. Singapore: Springer, 2015, lk 1–22.
(4)Tania Alonso, Francesco Tonucci, creator of The City of Children: ‘Cities must choose between improving or disappearing,”. — Tomorrow.Mag, 15.11.2019.
(5)Jess Row, How to grant your child an inner life. — The New Yorker, 18.02.2019
(6)Rob Withagen and Simone R Caljouw, Aldo van Eyck’s Playgrounds: Aesthetics, Affordances, and Creativity. — Frontiers in Psychology, 8/2017; Douwe Jongeneel, Rob Withagen and Frank T. J. M. Zaal, Do children create standardized playgrounds? A study on the gap crossing affordances of jumping stones. — Journal of Environmental Psychology, 44/2015, lk 45–52.
(7)Brian Sutton-Smith, The Ambiguity of Play. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.

In Estonian:

Kas laste sisemaastikud murenevad kui erodeerub mäng(1)? 

Neuroteadlased, sotsiaalpsühholoogid ja inimõiguste kaitsjad kinnitavad, et mäng on lapse vaimse heaolu(2) ja tervikliku arengu pinnas. Ometi on õppekavades ja ka koolist väljaspool kärpimisel vabale mängule avatud aegruum. Hävimas on mäng uudishimu soosivas eluslooduses(3). Üksteise koopiatena on linnades levinud mänguväljakud kui täiskasvanute humoorikas nägemus laste vajadustest eelnimetatud protsesside taustal. 

Hariduspsühholoog Francesco Tonucci (The City of Children) on nimetanud mänguväljakuid paikadeks, mis tekkisid kui lapsed ei saanud enam väljas vabalt liikuda. Tonucci näeb, et igal mängul on oma sobiv asukoht ning see ei saa olla täiskasvanute poolt valitud(4). Põhjused miks linnu turvalisteks ei peeta avavad lisa teemasid, ent käesoleva teksti raames võime märgata tagajärgi: on kadumas laste vabadus avastada, omapäi. Iseseisva spontaansuse piiramisel on aga hind laste kui tulevaste täiskasvanute siseelu arvelt.(5)

Erosioon võib väljenduda ka väljakute taandumisel standartsusele; viimase vaatlemises kandub edasi ka kunstnikepaari mõttepulk. Teadlased on uurinud Hollandi strukturalistliku arhitekti Aldo Van Eyck'i teise maailmasõja järgseid mänguväljakuid ning nende minimalistliku ja sümmeetrilise disaini mõju laste loovusele: on ilmnenud, et abstraktsed, skulptuursed vormid tõesti julgustavad loovust. Ent väljakute standardsus, plokkide ja torude omavaheline võrdne kaugus, mõjub mängitavusele pärssivalt(6). Mäng eelistab sassis miljööd, metsikust!

Erosioon kitsendab, ent oma mitmetähenduslikus olemuses(7) mäng aedikus ei püsi. Ikka kipub ta, kasvõi salamisi, laia maailma, seda aina uuesti kujutledes ja lahti võttes. Ka mänguväljakute all ja ümber on avarad väljad, mis avanevad mänglevas uudishimus. Sellest võrsub ka lapse enesetunnetus, siseilm.